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Monday, November 28, 2011

Twice-Baked Cauliflower Casserole (Low-Carb, Gluten-Free)

I have fond memories of Twice-Baked Potatoes, but now this Twice-Baked Cauliflower would suit me better!

(Twice Baked Cauliflower was updated with better photos and a slightly lightened recipe, November 2011.) I'm one of those people who really like cauliflower, and I especially like this dish, possibly in memory of all those twice baked potatoes I ate before I started eating the lower glycemic index way. I remember my mother making them for special occasions, and I'd help scoop out the potato insides and mix them with sour cream, cheese and butter, and lots of cheese sprinkled on top when the potatoes went back in the oven for the second baking. In those days all the Denny siblings considered twice baked potatoes to be the ultimate gourmet treat, something my mother didn't make very often for the twelve (12!) people she was cooking for.

Don't think of the cauliflower in this recipe as just a replacement for potatoes though. This is a great way to prepare cauliflower, whether or not you're a potato eater. I've been re-discovering The Low Carb gourmet by Karen Barnaby and that's where I found this recipe. I did eliminate the butter, reduce the amount of bacon, and used low fat cheddar, cream cheese, and sour cream to make it more South Beach Diet friendly. I made this last night for my brother Mark, his wife Lisa, and two of my nephews and their wives, and it was a hit with everyone (even those who thought they didn't like cauliflower!)

And yes, if you want to be picky, the cauliflower is really boiled, then baked, but I agree with Karen Barnaby that Twice-Baked Cauliflower is a title that really captures the spirit of this dish. Give it a try if you like cauliflower.

Cut up the cauliflower into small pieces and cook in boiling salted water until it's barely soft, then drain and mash the cauliflower, leaving some chunks. (I mash it a few times in the colander and then transfer to a bowl and mash a bit more.)

I know that bacon isn't recommended for the South Beach Diet, but I do use it occasionally in small amounts. This recipe called for 8 pieces, which I cut down to six. I buy the pre-cooked bacon at Costco, and cook it so it's very crisp, then blot well with paper towels, so I get rid of as much of the fat as I can. I think Canadian Bacon would taste great in this if you don't want to use bacon, and it would also be fine with no bacon at all.

Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Cut out stem and core from cauliflower, and cut into small pieces. Cook in large pot of boiling salted water until cauliflower is tender, but not overly soft. Drain well and mash with potato masher, leaving some chunks. Mix in light cream cheese, light sour cream, green onion, Parmesan, and 3/4 of the crumbled bacon.

Even though I lightened this recipe with no butter, less bacon, and less fat due to low fat cheese, light cream cheese, and light sour cream, this recipe is best as a "once-in-a-while" treat for the South Beach Diet since all the fat is saturated fat. With that caution, I think it could be eaten for any phase of the diet. Serve it with lower fat dishes such as Grilled Tuna with Cherry Tomato Salsa or Soy Braised Pot Roast. Cauliflower is very low on the glycemic index and low in carbs, and should be a good choice for any low carb eating plan.

Nutritional Information?
I chose the South Beach Diet to manage my weight partly so I wouldn't have to count calories, carbs, points, or fat grams, but if you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you.

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Posts may include links to my affiliate account at Amazon.com, and this blog earns a few cents on the dollar if readers purchase the items I recommend, so thanks for supporting my blog when you shop at Amazon!

Let me just add that even if you think you *don't* like cauliflower, you should try it. Or some version of roasted cauliflower... Poor ugly vegetable got such a bad reputation somehow, and your recipe ought to fix that right up. :)

I love cauliflower too...actually I love all those vegetabes that people generally tend to hate...broccoli, green beans etc..I prepare twice baked cauliflower too with indian spices and tomatoes. It's just heavenly!I'll try your version the next time I'm hankering for some cheese

Sounds sooo good. Will definitely try this. Reminds me of a dish my mother-in-law used to serve using rutabaga so I think you could substitute rutabaga for the cauliflower for a change. (Might want to leave the butter in for that.)

This sounds fantastic. We have some orange cauliflower sitting in the fridge at the moment...but none of the other ingredients (I'm in the opposite situation from where Alanna was when she wrote her comment...), but that's easily remedied. I'm dying to make this!

This recipe is a real winner, Kalyn. It's also very flexible - I've made it several times and I don't always have everything in the ingredient list, but you just substitute or make do without. And it's still wonderful. I'm posting the recipe on my blog, and giving you all the credit, though. Thanks so much for another great recipe.

Carolyn, thanks but credit should go to Karen Barnaby. I just adapted her recipe, and I agree, it's totally a winner! You might check out her cookbook. There are so many other interesting recipes, and the book is so old now I bet you can get it on Amazon.com for just a few dollars.

While I don't do the SB diet, I am diabetic and have to watch my carbs. I once tried smashed cauliflower at a restaurant and loved it. Since then, I've tried to find a recipe I liked. I think this is it. It was really great...thanks for sharing it!! I even posted about it on my blog!

You do not have to boil cauliflower in water and you shouldn't as you lose many of the nutrients. Instead use a steamer basket that fits into a regular pan. I also steam frozen cauliflower and broccoli and it is much more tender than it is when it is done in the microwave.

I haven't made it with FF sour cream, so I can't say for sure how it would work, but I'm guessing it would be okay. My suggestion to not use fat free is because fat free sour cream usually contains much more sugar than either light or regular sour cream. Since I'm trying to avoid sugar, I prefer light sour cream.

I've made this twice now and enjoyed it both times. I omitted the butter, and instead of bacon used Morningstar farms veggie bacon. Next time, I think I can omit the bacon completely as I use Trader Joe's shredded smoked cheese blend. I also eat it as the main course with something green on the side. Great comfort food for Phase 2 of South Beach, especially now that the weather is cold. Thanks Kalyn!

I love cauliflower, but dislike most of the recipes I find, especially those for "mock" mashed potatoes. They just don't appeal to me. However, this recipe looks great, and I can't wait to give it a try. Thanks for sharing!

The only thing I've ever made with cauliflower, outside of serving as crudites or steamed, are the "mock" mashed potatoes. And as Lost Between the Spaces above said, not so good. This looks like a good flavorful combo to try.

We love twice-baked potatoes - but we can't get fluffy baking potatoes here so it just doesn't work. This wood!(With French modifications of course - we don't have lo-fat stuff, so I would use yogurt.....)

Yum! Talk about comfort food, can't wait to test out this recipe as I too have been a huge fan of twice-baked potatoes since as long as I can remember. Cauliflower is an interesting choice I'd like to try.

Cauliflower is good especially for those who are in a diet because it is high in fiber that making them harder to digest thus the "full" feeling in the stomach lingers long, but on the other side, mixing it up with other fatty foods like bacon will ruin your diet.

HELP!!!! I was planning to make this tonight (for the 3rd glorious time) and just realized my cream cheese was completely molded (the joys of organic). Do you have a substitution idea? I already have my cauliflower in the pot to boil.

That's so funny. That's exactly what I did. I used a few triangles of garlic herb laughing cow cheese. Thanks! We absolutely love this recipe. I can't convince my kids (they're 4 and 3) yet but I keep trying. :-)

I think I've died and gone to SBD heaven!! I made this for dinner tonight as a side dish to accompany chicken breasts grilled with red peppers and onions. Even the non-dieters in this house loved it! This dish will remain in my regular dinner rotation. Thanks so much for all the good recipes, and please keep'em coming! BTW, the Marinated Flank Steak was also a hit around here!

We made this last night and it was delicious...I will not only add to our monthly rotation, but also to my Thanksgiving table. I didn't use as much cheddar since I didn't have much in the house, also used 1/3 less fat cream cheese...YUM!

Also, does it bug you that people look at a recipe and say "oh looks good?" I just don't get it...make the recipe and then comment...oh well, just a minor pet peeve of mine:)

I will definitely be trying this with the head of cally I have in my fridge. I would like to add that you consider subbing out the the sour cream with low fat Greek yogurt. It has many health benefits and I have found that it is almost undetectable as a substitute. Perhaps you may want to drain it a bit in this recipe though. Thanks for the recipe.

Kalyn, I had to tell you that I really liked your recipe and actually went for seconds. The things is as a kid I would refuse to eat cauliflower and even as an adult it's not something that makes it on my shopping list.

I needed a side dish and at a moments notice tossed a head in the shopping cart. Even on the way home I thought to myself what a stupid thing to do. It probably will get all moldy before I do anything.

Once home, I googled Cauliflower recipes and saw your face next to the google post ( your SEO tagging works like a charm) and decided to try your recipe.

Amazing recipe! I didn't have the cream cheese but I had Laughing Cow Swiss wedges and used four of them instead. I also had to substitute the sour cream with plain Greek yogurt. Amazingly, they all worked out deliciously. Thanks for the great recipe. It will be on my Christmas dinner table.

Kalyn, I just found your blog. Thank you for giving South Beach suggestions. I've been off and on South Beath Diet for 10 years, and I try to stay with the lifestyle chages they suggest, but I LOVE food, and its hard to say no.

I tried to read through your comments to see if anyone has already asked this but there are SOOOO many! This recipe sounds delicious. I actually follow the Dukan Diet. It is a low carb and low fat diet. Fat free cream cheese and fat free sour cream are part of the unlimited list. Why does the recipe specify NOT to use fat free cream cheese or sour cream? Does it really matter?

Made this tonight and it was delicious. Even my husband liked it and believe me that is quite something. The only vegetable he seems to eat without complaint is potatoes. Have made many of your recipes and have never been disappointed.

I've Made This Several Times And I Absolutely Love It but I Made It Too Late In The Week And I'm going Out Of Town And didn't Want To Waste It. I'll Freeze It And Let You Know...Thanks So Much For The Recipe...It's one Of my go-to's For My Low Carb Diet....Weird CapitalizatioN From My Phone...

I do like cauliflower, but hubby just makes fun of it because he says it has no taste. I'm going to make this one because not only does it look and sound delicious, but it just might change his mind about having to have potatoes ALLLLLLL the time! Thank you!

I never review anything online that I try....BUT this was so wonderful. I'm trying to eat low-glycemic also. It's still fairly new to me. This recipe completely made me feel like I was indulging in carb overload! It was exactly what I needed to satisfy a craving and I will definitely make it again. Thank you!

So, I made the Twice-Baked Cauliflower for dinner last night. One word: AMAZING!!! Or, wait: UNBELIEVABLE!!! OK, so that's two words which still aren't enough to capture how AWESOME this tastes. Now I'm up to three... People, if you haven't tried this, go out and getcha some cauliflower STAT

Isla, I haven't done that but I can't think of any reason it wouldn't work. You'd need to let it come to room temperature before you bake or increase the cooking time a little. I'd love to hear about how it works!

It worked fabulously! I steamed the cauliflower a day ahead, warmed them up to add the cheese the next morning, and baked it much later in the day. SO GOOD!! I used Greek yogurt, laughing cow cheese and turkey bacon and it was drool worthy! Thank you! Leftovers were great, too.

If you are on the Atkins Diet or the low-carb diet, you can make this recipe using the whole fat form of all of these items: bacon, cheeses, sour cream, cream cheese and whole cream (instead of low-fat milk, which has more carbs). Cauliflower and green onions (or scallions) are both on their approved veggies list and have much less carbs than potatoes.

This was a really great recipe. I excluded the bacon to cut some fat, and it was still really good. I may add some garlic next time or something, but the beauty of this dish is I think you could try a lot of variations to your own taste! Thanks so much for posting it - I'm diabetic and a this website has the best balance of recipes that are low carb but fairly low in fat too. I need to keep an eye on everything!

Thanks for joining the conversation! I love hearing from readers and even though I can't always reply to every comment, I will always answer specific questions on a recipe as soon as possible. Sometimes I'm answering by iPhone, so my replies may be short!

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